ACT 37: More Than You Can Chew
by Galaxy1001D
Summary: An attempt on Dastun's life pits Roger against the Paradigm Company's new chairman. THE BIG O: SEASON THREE
1. Take It Off

_The Big O and all of its settings and characters are owned by Bandai Visual, Sunrise, and Cartoon Network._

THE BIG O:

ACT 37

MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW

_Big-O!_

_Big-O! Big-O! Big-O!_

_Big-O!_

_Big-O! Big-O! Big-O!_

_Cast in the name of God!_

**Negotiator**

_Ye not the guilty!_

**Android**

_We have come to terms!_

**Butler**

_Big-O!_

**Officer**

_Big-O!_

_Big-O! Big-O! Big-O!_

_Big-O!_

_Big-O! Big-O! -O! -O! Big-O!_

_Chapter One: Take It Off_

_Paradigm City is a city without Memory; some would say a city without morals. One day forty years ago the entire city forgot everything that happened before that day. The city became divided between the rich and the poor. The Paradigm Company, the corporation that rules the city, has absolute power. These days, there's nothing to stop the Paradigm executives from being a bunch of ruthless gangsters._

In an executive boardroom a number of rough looking men in pinstripe suits sat around a table, but it looked more like a party than a board meeting. Champagne was poured into long stemmed wine glasses, and raucous laughter was heard. "Let's hear it for Jason Beck huh fellas?" one of the men cheered. "If it wasn't for him we'd still be in jail for racketeering charges instead of pardoned and owners of Paradigm stock!"

"Yeah, the old board members lacked vision," another agreed, "but Beck didn't forget his friends!"

"What happened to Beck anyway?" the first asked. "He was king of the world, and then he vanished."

"I hear he went up against the megadeus," the second said over the din of the others. "He had all the money in Paradigm, and then he had to throw it all away trying to settle a score with an enemy no one can beat."

"The megadeus?" the first asked. "Why did he have to do that for?"

"He had to prove he was the king of everything I guess, but there are only two things you can count on in this life, death and the megadeus," the second shrugged. "Some things are just too big to tangle with."

A middle aged man with a military haircut entered the room. "Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to the Paradigm Company's newest chairman, Mister Enoch Browning! Let's hear it for Nucky everybody!"

"Aw right! Nucky!" the first gangster cheered.

"Speech! Speech!" the second one hollered.

A short skinny middle-aged man with protuberant eyes smiled to reveal his misaligned teeth. "Gentlemen, gentlemen," he grinned as he raised his arms at the partying men. "I'd like to thank you all for choosing me as your chairman. I know we all miss the late and lamented Jason Beck who got us out of prison and set us up with these cushy office jobs, but he's gone now and we have to move on. This is our chance to make something of ourselves and finally get respectable."

"Respectable!" a voice cried out. "That's a good one!"

"You ain't never gonna get no respect Sammy," Browning joked, but his eyes had a hard edge. "I'm serious. This is our chance. Our entire lives we've been scoungin' and killin' each other for any piece of the action that was too small for the Paradigm Company to care about, but right now we _are_ the Paradigm Company. We got a chance to live like kings, or counts if any of that counts," he winked. "All we got to do is play it smart and we'll own this town until our children are old and gray. Ever since Rosewater died, Paradigm execs have been droppin' like flies, but we know how to survive! And we will not only survive, but prosper! If we play our cards right, there's enough of this city for everybody in this room. Our first order of business is to take care of our own and solidify our position, and that's what I'm going to do!"

* * *

_This city, Paradigm City, is a city of amnesia. Nobody really knows what happened but forty years ago, every single person lost all memory of what had happened before. What they found was a city damaged by some kind of disaster and a populace with amnesia. But humans are adaptable. If they can figure out how to use tools and harness electricity, they can rebuild and begin anew._

He gazed at himself in a full length mirror and saw a handsome man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties. His broad shoulders, muscular build, and trim waist indicated both strength and agility. His jet-black hair with his strong jaw and high cheekbones on his boyish face made him the definition of 'tall, dark, and handsome'. Clad only in a pair of black briefs, he flexed his muscles and stretched. He had spent four days wearing that back brace and it was finally off. He felt great. There wasn't a trace of lingering back pain or whiplash. His amazing powers of recuperation had come through again. He spread his arms and flexed his muscles, smiling at the handsome young beefcake grinning back at him. Was there anyone else in Paradigm City who could claim to be such a manly Adonis of a man?

He sniffed the air suspiciously and then checked his armpits. Phew! Perhaps right now he was a bit _too_ manly. He had cut down on his bathing after he had been injured and put in that back brace and now he was beginning to _smell_ like a man. Before he got dressed it was time for a bath.

* * *

_My name is Roger Smith. I live outside the domes in a former bank building I've turned into my home. As a professional negotiator, I'm one of the best and do very well for myself. Out in the concrete jungle that is Paradigm City it's anarchy but here in the safety and comfort of my home I'm the master of all I survey. Almost._

"Your bath is ready Roger," announced a slender teenage girl who was dressed in a reddish black dress that had a white ruffled collar and formal white cuffs. A set of black stockings and shiny black shoes completed her ensemble. Her red pageboy haircut was immaculate, her bangs broken by a black barrette. She offered him her dainty white hand, palm up. "I'll take your robe now."

"R Dorothy Wayneright, what do you think you're doing?" he sneered as he tightened the belt of his grayish black bathrobe. "Thanks for drawing a bath for me but the next part is private."

"Roger after your battle against Beck and his gigadeus four days ago, Norman and I divided the responsibilities," she said in her calm quiet voice. "Norman would repair Big O while I took care of you. You were injured."

"Yes, I _was_ injured but I'm fine now," he insisted. "Maybe Beck and Jenny Grant were right and I really _do_ have tiny robots in my body that repair any injury. I'm fine now and I don't need someone else to bathe me."

"Roger, there's no need to be embarrassed," Dorothy assured him. "I'm an android. It's not like I'm going to stare or anything."

"Yeah right," Roger snorted. "You've peddled that 'emotionless android' story far too often Dorothy, and I'm not buying it anymore. Your feelings run just as deep as anyone else's, maybe deeper."

"What's the matter Roger?" the girl teased in a deadpan tone. "Are you embarrassed about your body for some reason?"

"No, I'm quite proud of it," he smirked as he leaned forward to put his face inches away from the girl's. To her credit she didn't back up or even bat an eyelash, but he wasn't expecting her to. "Curious, Dorothy? It's tempting to satisfy your curiosity, but a gentleman doesn't expose himself to a young lady unless they're both consenting adults."

"I'm consenting," she insisted.

"You haven't even taken your Turing Test or your Rossum Evaluation yet!" Roger mocked. "You need those to prove to the city that you're a person! Until you pass those, you're the android equivalent of a child."

"You know I'm a person," she insisted.

"Yes, I do," he smiled as he held her chin with his fingertips, "and that's why it just wouldn't be proper to expose myself to a sweet, innocent, impressionable young lady like yourself."

"Roger since I was created I've been kidnapped, shot, taken apart, immobilized, forced to commit violence, and forced to see my father murdered before my eyes," she informed him. "I think I can survive seeing you naked."

"I promised myself that I would never join the long line of monsters who've hurt you in the past," he said gently, the levity gone from his voice. "I'm sorry Dorothy. I just can't take advantage of someone who's been hurt so many times before." His eyes ran up and down her slender form. "No matter how tempting it would be," he added in a playful tone.

"This isn't fair." She should have pouted, but as an android she did no such thing. "You're going to see _my_ naked body today. Why can't I see yours?"

"So that's what this is about!" he laughed. "And here I thought that you were flirting with me because you don't have a sense of smell!"

"Now that your brace is off, Norman is going to start our advanced course on robotics," Dorothy announced. "The dissection of the remains of that homicidal android we call 'Red Destiny' is today. You're going to see everything my creator gave me, including what's inside. Can't I at least study the outside of your body? It's not like I'm asking for permission to cut you open or anything."

"Why are you picking on _me_?" he teased. "If you want to see a nude human so badly why don't you ask Norman to strip down?"

"Norman is a sweet old man who reminds me of my father," the girl explained. "I think of him as both a trusted friend and a mentor, and in addition he is highly skilled in robotics. For me that makes him the equivalent of a medical doctor. You on the other hand are a virile lecherous louse. For you to see my naked body robs me of both my modesty and my dignity."

"Lecherous?" he sniggered. "That's kind of harsh. I've been a perfect gentleman since you've moved in. I even gave up my wicked womanizing ways and everything. I like the 'virile' part though, but I think the reason I'm feeling virile is because I'm naked under this robe and there's a beautiful girl in the room."

"Norman wants me to study medicine as well as robotics," Dorothy announced, "so that I can look after you when he is too old to do it himself. I'll have to see your naked body sooner or later if I intend to take care of you."

"And you will when you're old enough, I promise," Roger teased as he kissed her forehead. "I'll make you another promise: If we ever find a dead Roger Smith you can strip him naked and cut him open so you can see how_ my _body works, deal?"

"You really are such a louse Roger Smith."

* * *

Later, after his bath, Roger was dressed in a white shirt and black trousers that were held up with a pair of black suspenders. Once bathing and dressing was out of the way, he escorted Dorothy to the robotics bay and met their teacher, his valet, Norman Burg. Norman Burg was a tall gangly old man wearing an archaic tuxedo and a patch over one eye. Although his sparse white hair didn't cover his bald pate, he did have a magnificent handlebar moustache.

Lying on a table in the center of the room was a small slender form that was disturbingly familiar. The nameless android alternatively called 'RD', 'Red Destiny' and 'Agent D' was Dorothy's copy in every way, right down to the reddish black dress that covered her petite body. A few basic cosmetic repairs had been done to its head, making the inert android look exactly like a dead R Dorothy Wayneright.

Roger and Dorothy both froze in the doorway, but only Roger had a concerned expression on his face and gulped nervously. Little Dorothy was as still as death itself.

Norman cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Ahem, despite the grisly reminder of that horrific incident we have been blessed with an unparalleled opportunity. The android that Mister Beck reconstructed for the purpose of theft and murder shall now be used for the constructive purpose of teaching us how to care for one of our own, the lovely Miss Dorothy Wayneright. After all we've been through I think that we all agree for the need for hands on experience with Miss Dorothy's repairs and maintenance. Now that we're all here we can begin. If you'll help me undress the subject Miss Dorothy?"

Miss Dorothy turned and left the room without saying a word.

For a moment both men looked at the empty doorway before Roger muttered "I better go after her."

* * *

The Paradigm Corporation was being run out of a group of skyscrapers after the huge domelike structure that was the former headquarters had collapsed in on itself earlier that week. Paradigm Headquarters had been damaged by the fight between Big Fau and Big O a few months back, but it was the recent struggle between Big O and the gigadeus down in the foundations that had finally finished it off.

Colonel Dastun was a veteran officer of the Military Police safeguarding the city. A burly, heavyset man in his fifties, his horseshoe mustache and muttonchop sideburns were the most memorable things about his craggy face. Although currently in uniform, his hat was off exposing his bald head and the intricate network of scars on his dome. The reason his hat was off was because he was saluting Enoch 'Nucky' Browning in the Paradigm chairman's new office.

"Colonel Dan Dastun," Browning smiled exposing his unforgettable teeth. "So glad you could join me on such a fine morning as this. Well, well you made it to colonel. It's been a while hasn't it Dan?"

"Yes sir," Dastun nodded. "It's been six years since I took you down for racketeering."

"Yup," Browning nodded. "I was pretty sore about it at the time, but I'm not anymore. I didn't spend all my time on the weight pile like those other guys. I took classes while I was in the pen. Now I got a degree in business and I'm working on my economics major. How about that? You sending me up could have been the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Glad I could help sir," Dastun said.

"Hey, I hear you've done pretty well for yourself there Danny," Browning continued. "Stood up to the big boys and became temporary head of the Military Police. Wow. That took _cajones_. But you've been slippin' after that. I mean the city's been through two boards of directors since you took over, and three chairmen. My god! What the hell is the matter with you? This all in the same year! What the hell is the company even paying you for? Colonel Dastun, your fired. I'm afraid your service with the Military Police has come to an end. I'm just not convinced that you can keep the city safe for me and the citizens who depend on us anymore. Sorry pal. It's been a good run, but it's over. You're being let go. The Military Police is going in another direction. We're experiencing a change of executive management right now. You get the picture. Clean out your desk. If you go quietly you can have an honorable discharge and severance benefits and everything. Make any noise and I'll have you arrested for criminal negligence, do you get me?"

"Yes sir," Dastun nodded coolly. "I understand completely. I'll say goodbye to my men and clear out before the end of the day."

"Thanks Dan," Browning said as he cut off the tip of a cigar. "I'm glad we had this little talk."

* * *

On a desk filled with hourglasses a phone rings. Roger's hand picks up the receiver and a sinister voice says:

_Next: Dorothy Exposed_


	2. Dorothy Exposed

_The Big O and all of its settings and characters are owned by Bandai Visual, Sunrise, and Cartoon Network._

THE BIG O:

ACT 37

MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW

_Chapter Two: Dorothy Exposed _

The girl stood on the three foot tall stone railing at the top of the building and looked out at the city. Wind blew through her reddish black dress and brick red pageboy haircut. The sun shone off her egg white skin creating a luminescence that defied her somber clothing and the dour expression on her young lineless face.

"Dorothy, you're not planning to jump are you?" Roger asked as he walked across the white tower's rooftop patio to join her. "Norman is waiting for us, but I understand if you find this disturbing. Do you need a minute?"

"You can start the lesson without me Roger," she said without turning around. "I'm not going back in there."

"Care to talk about it?"

"Roger I can't stand being in that room," she told him in a calm, conversational tone. "It's even worse when you're there. I can't be in the room with that thing."

He leaned against the three foot tall wall, his elbows less than a meter from her dainty feet. "Yeah, I guess it can't be easy, after what it almost did to me."

"It has my face, my body," Dorothy explained calmly. "It's what I could have been if my father hadn't given me the Memories of his dead daughter. That thing was a killer and it turned me into one. How can I look at it knowing that I'm the same?"

"You're completely different Dorothy," Roger insisted.

"No I'm not," the girl argued calmly. "We're completely identical. The only thing that makes me different is that dead girl's Memories make me want to be different. And I'm not. Not only did I destroy her but I hate her and still want to kill her."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Roger admitted. "I completely lose it when I see a barcode or a tomato just from the possibility that I'm not unique, that there might have been another Roger Smith before me. You _know_ there was another Dorothy Wayneright and that android reminds you that you're a copy."

"An imperfect copy," Dorothy corrected. "I doubt the original Dorothy weighed two hundred and eighty pounds. I knew about RD of course, but I didn't have to see her in action, and even if I did I could tell myself that I was different than her, but I'm not. I can't forgive her for exposing what I truly am. We're the same. I can kill."

"Lots of people can kill Dorothy," Roger assured her. "Most of us choose not to. You acted only when she left you no choice."

"I chose to kill her and I did," Dorothy announced in a conversational tone, "and now I'm going to take her apart and study her remains. When I need a spare part I'll take one of hers. That creature I want no part of will be my organ donor. As time passes it will become a part of me. I find the concept so terrible that I would destroy myself to avoid it but that would be repeating my mistake. Once again I would be doing the thinkable, destroying an intelligent being."

"Okay, that's it, get down off there," Roger ordered. When she did so he put his hands on her shoulders. "Now look at me. _You_ are a special and wonderful person Dorothy Wayneright and you are _not _her. When you destroyed her you saved my life and for that I will always be grateful. She was a murderer who had killed several times before and she was about to do so again so don't you dare feel guilty. You didn't take a life, you saved lives. RD didn't have a life aside of infiltration and murder. She didn't have a soul like you do. Yes you destroyed her and it feels awful. Welcome to the human race Dorothy. Killing stinks. It's never easy and never should be. You may feel ashamed, but to me you're a hero, especially when I realize the sacrifice you made. You forced yourself to break your cardinal rule because you cared for me. I was _that_ important to you. I'm proud to have you in my life and I like to think that I've been a good influence. Now come on, let's go inside and find out how to give you medical aid in case you need it."

"I'm sorry Roger but it's just too soon," Dorothy said. "If I was a human girl, and that was my twin sister in there, would you insist I participate in her autopsy in order to study medicine that I could practice only on myself?"

Roger slumped in defeat. "No, of course not," he admitted. "I'm sorry Dorothy. Sometimes I think you can be both a sensitive young lady and an emotionally indestructible machine at the same time, but it doesn't work that way. You don't have to go in there if you're not ready."

"Thank you Roger."

"If you choose to be an indestructible machine, I'll let you see me naked," he offered with a sly grin.

"Go take your lesson Roger," she told him. "I promise I won't go anywhere."

* * *

Soon Roger was back in the robotics bay with Norman. "She won't budge Norman," he announced.

"Well, it was callous of us to insist in the first place," Norman admitted. "This lesson is for you anyway. It's not like Miss Dorothy will be able to perform surgery on herself will she?" He nodded at the still form under the sheet. "I took the liberty of undressing her while you were gone. We can begin anytime you're ready."

"Okay," Roger nodded as he steeled himself for the sight of what for all intents and purposes was cute little Dorothy's corpse.

When Norman pulled the sheet off Roger sucked in a breath. Norman blushed, and soon Roger was blushing also. The younger man made several attempts to speak before finally stammering out: "She certainly looks, ah, lifelike doesn't she? I mean she looks almost real." That was a lie. Aside of the injury to the head and slipshod bandaging job done to repair it, the naked remains of Dorothy's evil twin looked completely real. "I expected her to look like a doll down there. I have to admit, when it came to getting a perfect resemblance to his lost daughter, Timothy Wayneright certainly covered all the bases!"

"Yes sir," Norman agreed stiffly.

"Er um, she sure looks like a human, doesn't she?" Roger continued. "Even down _there_. I assume it's just cosmetic? It's not like she could actually uh…"

Norman cleared his throat awkwardly and blushed.

"You mean she _can_?" Roger's eyes bulged out. "It's physically possible for Dorothy to uh… experience romance? Well, um, physically at least. It's not like she could actually enjoy it and feel it for real. She'd just be going through the motions."

Norman cleared his throat again and looked away.

"Wait a second!" Roger sputtered. "Are you telling me that it's possible for an android to _make love_? For real? And feel it? And to experience it for real, just like a human girl would?"

"So Doctor Wayneright's notes would indicate at least," his valet shrugged sheepishly, "but we'll never know for sure until you test the equipment."

"Norman!"

"Ahem, I mean 'until she finds that special someone,'" he corrected himself. "Yes. I'm certain that's what I meant."

"Norman," Roger said gravely as he drew the sheet back over Dorothy's defunct doppelganger, "I think I'd like to see Dorothy's blueprints if it's all right."

"I wish I could show them to you Master Roger, but I promised Miss Dorothy that I wouldn't without her express permission," the old valet apologized. "I can't show you any schematics that don't apply to today's lesson without betraying her trust."

"That's okay, I think I know what she's been keeping secret all this time," Roger looked away and blushed. He wasn't wearing a tie or his jacket but even so he undid a button at his collar. He took a breath and let it out slowly as he leaned his back against the wall and rubbed his temples. Finally he spoke. "Norman, when I was fighting Beck, he told me some disturbing things about Dorothy."

"Did he sir?"

"Yeah," Roger put his hands in his pockets and looked away. "During the fight with the gigadeus, Beck told me that Wayneright used a design from before what happened forty years ago as a model. He hinted that they made androids for um…"

"I think I understand sir," Norman came to his rescue. "Do go on."

Roger scratched his head and wiped his face but still didn't look at Norman. "I thought Beck was just messing with my head. He said that uh, Dorothy was designed to look and feel like a real girl in every way that mattered."

"I see," Norman nodded. "That should be very handy for Miss Dorothy should she ever want to get married. Makes it much easier to find a husband you know."

"Uh, yeah, it should," Roger fidgeted. "He also said that when Timothy Wayneright finally succeeded in recreating the lost technology, he had run out of money. When Miguel Soldano hired him to design the megadeus known as Dorothy One, he threw in R Dorothy's blueprints as a bonus, along with the original Dorothy's Memories to ensure that his daughter would live again. It was a desperate gamble, but Doctor Wayneright was an old man and didn't have a lot of time."

"Dear me," Norman murmured. "I shudder to think what kind of purpose Mister Soldano had for her. I'm surprised at Doctor Wayneright. What kind of father would do that to his child?"

"He wouldn't. He made a deal with Beck to rescue Dorothy right after she was built," Roger blushed, finally looking at Norman. "He gave Beck the command codes for Dorothy One as payment, but it wasn't enough. Beck turned around and ransomed her back to Soldano, even though the old tightwad thought he was getting Dorothy One back. R Dorothy was just a plaything. She didn't matter. No wonder Dorothy was so cold when he died. I can't believe that Soldano. What kind of person would even _think_ to do something like that to a young girl?"

"I'm afraid that kind of man is all too common Master Roger," the old man sighed.

"I guess Doctor Wayneright designed her that way because he knew he wasn't long for this world," Roger mumbled. "He made sure she could find a happily-ever-after with somebody after he was gone. But what a price! To come into the world as some kind of plaything! Poor Dorothy!" he shuddered. "What a way to come into the world! No wonder she wanted my protection and needed to find her father, the only man who truly cared for her! What a nightmare! The mental torture must have been unthinkable!"

"Hopefully androids are more resilient than most young girls sir," Norman offered.

"Norman, when she was at the Nightingale, she acted perfectly human!" Roger insisted. "She cowered before me when I confronted her, laughed at her father's joke and smiled radiantly when she took the stage. It was the only time she felt safe enough to let it all out! Don't you realize what this means?"

"I think I can guess," Norman nodded sadly.

"Dorothy doesn't display human emotion, but it has nothing to do with being an android!" Roger snapped his fingers. "It's because she's been emotionally traumatized! Don't you get it, she's shell-shocked! My God! What happened when Dorothy was first activated? Did they hook her up to a bunch of machines to see if her recreational equipment was working properly? And what did Beck do to her once he got ahold of her? Did Soldano ever…?" Horrorstruck, Roger collapsed into a chair and covered his face.

"Try not to think about it Master Roger," Norman patted his shoulder. "She turned out all right in the end didn't she?"

Roger shook his head in disgust. "To think that I have panic attacks whenever I see a barcode when she's got _this_ weighing her down! I really don't know what a dark past is, do I? And I'm just rubbing salt in the wound, too! I treat her like she's an object or a sex object but I never treat her like real person!"

"With respect, Master Roger, that's simply not true," Norman assured him. "The two of you have grown quite close since she moved in with us. You've been very sensitive to her feelings and the two of you engage in playful banter. From where I'm standing, you respect her a great deal."

Roger got up and went to the inert figure lying on the table. He pulled back the sheet from the android's head to reveal a damaged replica of Dorothy's face that had been hastily taped up with bandages. "I never told her, Norman," he sighed.

"I'm sure you have sir, it's just that a human's memory isn't quite as accurate as an android's," Norman assured him. "The question is, what do we do now? If Miss Dorothy's emotional state is as fragile as you say we don't know how she'll react if you start treating her differently. The emotions might burst out uncontrollably. We don't want her to run away again or hurt herself."

"You're right Norman," Roger nodded, some of his old fire and determination returning. "She didn't want me to know because she didn't want me to start acting weird. Her masquerade as an unfeeling android is how she saves face and allows her to deal with what she's been through. To take that away without putting something in its place would be devastating. I've got to be careful with how I act when I'm around her. The one thing she has is her dignity, and I'm not going to take that away from her. But what can we do to help her?"

"The late Doctor Wayneright managed to get her out of her shell," Norman offered. "Do you know how he did that sir?"

"I…" Roger frowned. "I don't know how he managed to get through to her but I can guess. Doctor Wayneright was the father of that girl Dorothy received her Memories from. The old man recovered just enough of his Memories to know how to treat her, and she had enough of that girl's Memories to recognize him and respond. She felt safe around him."

"He treated her like his daughter," Norman agreed, "not like his property. It all becomes clear now. It's a pity that there isn't anyone else who resembles someone from the original Dorothy's past, Master Roger."

"Uh, actually I think there might be," the younger man admitted. "Dorothy told me that the reason she ran away two weeks ago was because she discovered that the original Dorothy knew the man whose Memories I possess that allows me to pilot a megadeus. I've um, been getting flashbacks of the original Dorothy's death."

Norman's face was one of concern. "That must be incredibly disturbing sir."

"It sure is," Roger shuddered, "and that's not all. Beck acted like I was Big O's original pilot, like I somehow managed to live for over forty years and not age one day in the meantime. Dorothy confirms it. She says that physically I resemble the man from the original Dorothy's Memories. It's possible that there was another Roger Smith who looked just like me…"

"You've long suspected that Master Roger."

"The point is, I either am, or I resemble the man who piloted Big O forty years ago," Roger shook his head in disbelief. "No wonder Dorothy insisted that I was the one to protect her when she first hired me a year and a half ago! She recognized me from that dead girl's Memories! Doctor Wayneright probably expected her to seek me out after he died. The reason he was so threatened by my appearance at the Nightingale was that he was afraid I'd take her away from him too early."

"It's entirely possible sir," Norman looked carefully at his master for a moment. "Begging your pardon sir, but are you visualizing tomatoes, barcodes, burning books, megadeuses laying waste to the city or bald children staring into fires?"

"What?" Roger shook as if he had awoken from a bad dream. "Uh yeah, maybe."

* * *

At that moment Colonel Dastun was being driven back to Military Police Headquarters. "So how did your meeting with the new chairman go Colonel?" his driver asked him as they turned onto a lonely road along the river.

"About how you'd expect it to go," the grizzled colonel replied. "I sent Nucky Browning up six years ago. I guess I'm lucky that firing me is all he's going to do. Some of those guys can really carry a grudge."

"Wow, I hope not," his driver said. "What's going to happen to all of us in the Military Police now that the gangsters are in charge?"

"I hate to imagine, but it'll be peanuts compared to what's going to happen to Paradigm City," Dastun sighed. "Beck did his best to tear this city apart when he was the boss. I can't expect Nucky Browning to do much different. If we're lucky he'll try to put on a respectable veneer, otherwise he'll trample people's rights flatter than a pancake until the whole city turns to crime just so it doesn't have to starve."

"That's a pretty dark picture you're painting, isn't it sir?" his driver asked as they drove through the fog. "When Beck was chairman he seemed to be trying to wreck the city on purpose but maybe Browning won't have to do anything really awful once he sees his dividends next month."

"That's the spirit kid, keep looking at the bright side," Dastun muttered as the police car drove along the lonely deserted road. "You know, I'm not in such a big hurry to get back to the precinct just yet. Why don't you pull over under the bridge there and let me take a look at the city for a minute."

"Will do sir," the driver said as he complied.

The city on the other side of the river went about its daily business. "Poor devils," Dastun grumbled from the back seat of the parked car. "They don't have a clue. We just can't catch a break can we?"

In the front seat the driver was screwing a silencer on the barrel of a pistol. "I'm really sorry Colonel," he said as he turned around and pointed his gun at Dastun…

…only to look down the barrel of the snub nosed pistol Dastun was pointing a right back at him. "I'm sorry too kid," the colonel said before he pulled the trigger.

* * *

On a desk filled with hourglasses a phone rings. Roger's hand picks up the receiver and a sinister voice says:

_Next: A Good Man _


	3. A Good Man

_The Big O and all of its settings and characters are owned by Bandai Visual, Sunrise, and Cartoon Network._

THE BIG O:

ACT 37

MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW

_Chapter Three: A Good Man_

Back at the white tower that Roger had made into his home, the young man looked for the little android and found her sweeping the floor, pushing a large push broom down a hall. "Hey," he greeted as he tried to act casual. "Feeling better Dorothy?"

"Not really," she said as she concentrated on her work. "Did you learn anything in your study of my evil twin?"

"No," Roger rolled his eyes and looked away as he tried to keep himself from blushing. "Seeing her lying down there, well, it was like you were dead or something. It wouldn't have been so bad if you were in the room with me but without you, it was like the time Beck stole your memory drive and installed it in Big Fau. It was just too painful. I guess I _talk_ big don't I?"

"You have nothing to be ashamed of Roger."

"Wish I agreed with you," he snorted. "You know, last month before all this started you said something about positive experiences balancing out negative ones. Maybe we should give that a shot, what do you say?"

She stopped sweeping and stood up straight. The servos in her neck were audible as she turned to face him. "Roger Smith, are you asking me out on a date?"

"As I recall, it was your idea wasn't it?" Roger shrugged. "Before we destroyed the gigadeus Beck really messed with my head. I need some positive experiences to balance out the negative or I'll wind up wearing a coat where the sleeves tie in the back. I'm a little paranoid and you're the only one I trust, what do you say?"

She fixed him with her inscrutable gaze. "I thought you only date girls in a double digit age bracket Roger," she finally said.

"We're just going out, we're not going to a shady hotel or anything," Roger winked. "I promise to be a perfect gentleman if you'll be a perfect lady. If I get fresh you can twist my arm behind my back, you're certainly strong enough. Come on Dorothy. You've been saying for months that I've been making my home my prison, that we never go anywhere. How many hallucinations is it going to take before I listen? I've got to get out of here before I become a complete lunatic."

"What about Angel?"

"I don't know where she is," Roger shrugged. "If I manage to find her she's going to have me troubleshoot some problem she's got. That leaves you. Out of all the women I know, you're the only one I'm really close to."

Her face was impenetrable, but then it always was. It was nearly impossible to tell what this girl was thinking; you had to figure it out. Did she know that he knew her secret? That she wasn't an unfeeling android with perfect control of her emotions but a traumatized girl who didn't dare feel the turmoil below the surface? Could he keep his face as unreadable as hers? Or would…

"Very well," she finally said, "but I insist we get me something to wear."

"Great!" he sighed in relief. "Where do you want to go?"

"Surprise me Roger. We _are_ going out for _your_ sake after all."

"Um yeah, for my sake," he muttered. "If you aren't having a good time, that's stressful too. I want you to have fun too you know."

"I'm willing to try new experiences Roger. Don't worry about me."

"I can't help worrying about you," he shrugged before he spied Norman approaching. The look on the old man's face told Roger something was up. "Yes Norman, what is it?"

"Master Roger, Colonel Dastun is here to see you," Norman announced. "I get the impression that the matter is urgent."

"I can't say I'm surprised," Roger sighed before glancing back at the young android. "We'll talk later Dorothy. In the meantime duty calls," he added as he walked off.

"Wait. Norman," Dorothy called before the old man followed. "Do you have a moment?"

"What is it Miss Dorothy?"

"Roger has asked me out on a date."

"Isn't that what you always wanted my dear?"

"Yes, but that was before I discovered that he is haunted by the Memory of the original Dorothy's death," the girl clarified. "Now I know that it was wrong to force myself into his life. I'm hurting him Norman. If he's not a clone, if he's the original Roger, he must have had his Memories altered so he could forget about her."

"And if he's not the original Roger?"

"Then he shouldn't be controlled by a Memory that belongs to someone else," the girl insisted. She looked down the hall to the door that Roger had disappeared through. "I love him Norman. I can't help it. Even if he didn't deserve it I would still be devoted to him. I was created to be that dead girl and love who she loved. Roger might feel the same way for the same reasons. I want to make him happy, but I'm an android. If I truly love someone, if I really care for him, then I should put his happiness before my own. I love _this_ Roger because the original Dorothy loved _her_ Roger, but it isn't fair for _our_ Roger to be controlled by _her_ Roger's Memory."

"You know I believe I actually followed that," Norman's eye twinkled. "Miss Dorothy, you could be overthinking this. Are you sure the reason that you love Master Roger isn't because he's young, brave, wealthy, handsome, clever, noble, and cares for you so deeply? Such things have turned many a young girl's head in the past my dear."

"Please, Norman, I'm an android," she insisted. "I have as much chance of spontaneously falling in love as Roger has of wearing a white suit."

"Does Master Roger care for you in the same way Miss Dorothy?"

"I believe so, but it's only because he's influenced by that dead man's Memories," she replied. "He has no reason to choose me before a human woman otherwise."

"Indeed, and I suppose that your grace, beauty, kindness, innocence, intelligence and devotion have nothing to do with his feelings?"

"I don't have a choice Norman. And I don't want to take away his. He deserves to find a good woman and have a family."

"Don't _you_ deserve to find a good man?" he asked her.

"I'm an android," she repeated. "It doesn't matter if I find a man. I'm not going to give him children after all."

Norman looked up at the ceiling as if seeking strength to endure a great hardship.

* * *

In the meantime Roger met Dastun in a comfortable parlor. A liquor cabinet that displayed a collection of brandy held the colonel's attention until Roger walked in.

"Hello Dastun, what can I do for you?"

"It's started," the grizzled officer muttered. "This morning Enoch Browning called me into his office and fired me. It came as no surprise. A lot of bad things have happened on my watch."

"That's not your fault."

"Wait a second Roger, it gets worse," Dastun sighed. "On the way back to headquarters, my driver tried to kill me. Premeditated. He had a pistol with a silencer and everything. I had to shoot him with my backup gun."

"Having you murdered after firing you?" Roger shook his head. "That's kind of overkill isn't it?"

"He must be worried that my men will remain loyal to me instead of my replacement," Dastun shrugged. "It could happen you know. It has before."

"A man who commits murder when he doesn't need to is too dangerous to ignore," Roger said. "Will you catch any heat from the death of your driver?"

"The gun I used is untraceable, and in any case I tossed it in the river," Dastun shrugged. "That doesn't mean that evidence won't be manufactured; if only make me look bad to my men. Fat chance of that. The guy I killed was new. He was instated when Beck was chairman. A lot about his background check didn't add up. Internal affairs and I suspected he was a plant from the start."

"Internal affairs, do you mean Inspector O'Reilly?"

"Yeah."

"So where does that leave us?" Roger asked.

"Up the creek without a paddle," Dastun shrugged. "I'm sorry Roger. He cut my feet out from under me. We both knew this day would come. It looks like you'll have to handle things on your own from now on."

"We might still be able to salvage this, or at the very least we can put off the inevitable," Roger put his hand on his chin. "Somehow I've got to contact Angel."

"What? Angel?" Dastun frowned. "What can _she_ do?"

"Probably nothing, but if she has access to information I think she does she could be our weapon in our war against Paradigm," Roger told him. "Last month, both Jason Beck and Lester Young were tearing the city apart looking for her, and then suddenly Beck takes over the city without half trying. It could be that he forced Angel to give him access to Memories that nobody could possibly possess."

"Is that even possible?" Dastun sputtered. "What if you can't find her?"

"Then it's time for Plan B."

* * *

Roger added a black tie bisected by a gray stripe, black gloves, black sunglasses, and a black double breasted jacket to his apparel and drove off in a long black Cadillac to see an informant. Soon Roger's car was parked in front of the working class bar known as the Speakeasy. The armor was activated turning the long black Cadillac into a metal rectangular box. Inside Roger was sitting next to the old greybeard he called 'Big Ear.' "Why hello Mister Negotiator," the old man rumbled without looking up from his newspaper. "What can I do for you this fine day?"

"Enoch Browning," Roger muttered as he opened his can of beer, "I need leverage for a negotiation with him. Got anything?"

"Doris Forsythe," the old man rumbled. "A lovely little thing he saved from an alcoholic husband by having him killed. She didn't approve of his line of work, but she was devoted to Nucky Browning all the same, and he was devoted to her. He didn't even bother with a mistress after they got married, unlike most organized crime figures. They shared a few years of wedded bliss but when she died six years ago with his unborn child Enoch Browning fell apart. That's why he got sloppy enough for your friend Dastun to put him away for racketeering. They say he carries her picture with him wherever he goes."

"Doris Forsythe wasn't a tall statuesque blonde by any chance?" Roger asked as a scheme formed in his head.

"No, she was a short, skinny little redhead," Big Ear corrected. "She was a quiet moody girl, probably because she knew what he did for a living."

Roger choked on his beer as plans for Angel using her wiles to spy on Enoch Browning vanished from his mind. "Got anything else?"

"He considers himself a businessman and not a gangster," Big Ear rumbled. "He's one of those criminals who lies to himself and claims to be better than the company he keeps. He had an abusive alcoholic father if that helps but I don't see how."

"Something will come to me," Roger assured him. "I've got to do_ something_. Even _this_ city deserves more than a two bit gangster running the show. He has to go."

"So depose him then."

"It's not that easy."

"Sure it is," the old man shrugged as if they were talking about the weather. "There's still time. The Military Police are as mad as hell right now. He's replacing Colonel Dastun with his brother Eli. The official change of command ceremony isn't until Sunday. It should be easy for Datsun to talk his men into supporting a coup."

"Yeah we could tear down the Paradigm Corporation, but what are we going to replace it with?" Roger grumbled. "We need a strong leader to take charge once the dust settles. Any idiot can destroy something, even something as big as Paradigm but it takes a real craftsman to create something to take its place."

"A craftsman like a _Smith_, perhaps?" the greybeard asked slyly.

"Don't even go there!"

"Roger you're a negotiator," Big Ear told him. "You're a born politician. If the Paradigm Company and the entire infrastructure that our society is founded on were torn asunder I can't imagine anyone else who could bring the people together to build a new civilization. Let's face it my friend. There _is_ no one else. The Roland Knights and the Gordon Rosewaters of the old days are gone. You're the only one this corrupt city has left."

"The Roland Knights?" Roger repeated. "Who the hell was Roland Knight?"

"I'm not surprised you don't remember him Roger," the old man admitted with a bitter laugh. "No one does. He was the Paradigm Company's first Chairman. He and Rosewater were the ones who took charge after the big amnesia. Knight was the chairman of the board; Rosewater was the president of the company. Together they built the civilization we have today."

"They should both be put up against the wall and shot, but either one would be better than Enoch Browning," Roger grumbled.

"That's pretty harsh, Negotiator," Big Ear chided. "You don't know what it was like when the city lost its Memories. Those were chaotic times. Somebody had to impose order. Sure their methods may have seemed draconian, but they did the best they could with what they had available. Until Alex was in charge people could live a pretty good life actually. Once things calmed down, Roland and Gordon actually did an okay job. Our society may not be perfect, but what is?"

"So why haven't I ever heard of the wonderful Roland Knight?" Roger asked. "The way you go on, he sounds like a saint."

"Oh he was no saint," Big Ear chuckled, "but he did make the Paradigm Group look good. You want to know what happened to him? The same thing that happened to Gordon Rosewater. One day Roland Knight just stopped going to work and Gordon did his best to make it appear as if he never existed. A lot of people whispered that Gordon had gotten rid of him but those who actually knew them said that Roland just wanted to disappear. Roland Knight was never happy with the civilization he created. He felt they could have done better. Then one day he just decided to vanish and erase himself from history. It wasn't that hard to do. Records were spotty back then. Today, a picture of the man must be worth a million dollars."

"Well it doesn't matter," Roger shrugged as he sipped his beer. "It's not like that old fossil would be strong enough to run the show anyway, even if he _was_ still alive. He'd have to be a wreck like Gordon Rosewater."

"Actually back in the day, Roland Knight was a young man," Big Ear corrected. "He looked like he was in his twenties back then. That would put him in his sixties right now. If he ate right and exercised regularly he might be up to the challenge. He's worked with less."

"Are you serious?" Roger took off his sunglasses and turned his head to look at Big Ear. "Are you saying that somewhere out there there's a man who could not only rebuild the city, but actually has practical experience doing so?"

Big Ear laughed again. "That's right. He was the city's white knight who became its king. And he abdicated the throne and let pretenders rule in his place. And he just might be out there ready to do it again."

"Well we've got to find this guy!" Roger declared. "You said it yourself; if we want to get rid of Browning and his thugs, we've got to do it now. All we have to do is find someone to run the city who won't make things worse! That's the missing piece! The leader! He's just the guy to push the reset button! If we can find him the people will rally around him. Getting rid of Browning will be easy! It could probably be done in one day!"

"Are you sure you want to Roger?" the old man asked with a hint of mischief. "If you do find Roland Knight and put him in charge you may not like it."

"I'll hate it," Roger nodded, "but at least things will be back to normal again. If Knight's the same man he used to be he'll probably bow out once he finds a successor. Knight may not have been perfect but at least he wasn't foolish enough to leave it to his son. Any leads on Roland Knight?"

"Rumor had it that he moved out of the city to a private estate until the heat died down," Big Ear rumbled. "No one knows if he ever left it. After that all sorts of people claimed to have seen him until everybody forgot what he looked like. Now no one knows that he ever existed. Young people these days say we're better off _without_ a past. You know the type, don't you, _Negotiator_?"

"Paradigm Headquarters was destroyed, and they wouldn't give up the records anyway, but I might be able to check with the city and find out if anybody bought any property back then," Roger stroked his chin. "In the meantime, I think I've got a way to challenge Browning, something to make him hold off on Dastun until I'm ready to make my move."

"Be careful Roger," the old man warned. "Declaring War against the Paradigm Corporation is no mean feat. Once Browning's got you on his radar he won't hesitate to eliminate you."

* * *

On a desk filled with hourglasses a phone rings. Roger's hand picks up the receiver and a sinister voice says:

_Next: _ _Worth Saving_


	4. Worth Saving

_The Big O and all of its settings and characters are owned by Bandai Visual, Sunrise, and Cartoon Network._

THE BIG O:

ACT 37

MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW

_Chapter Four: Worth Saving_

Despite his distinctive black double breasted suit and sunglasses, Roger did his best to blend in with the crowd assembled in the parade ground to witness the change of command ceremony, even though the vast majority of the attendees were dressed in uniform. Oh there were a few family members and city officials in the crowd, but hardly enough so that the young negotiator didn't stand out. Fortunately nobody seemed interested in him. Most of the assembled were there to see their beloved commandant replaced with a two-bit gangster.

Amazingly, Dastun managed to survive long enough to attend the change of command ceremony that was part of the transfer of authority and responsibility of Paradigm City's Military Police. Elias Browning, the new commandant and the new chairman's younger brother was ignorant that there even was such a ceremony, but he took to the idea with gusto when he was informed. It explained why no attempt on Dastun's life was made that week. Elias wanted his ceremony and Enoch saw no problem with rubbing it Dastun's face that the veteran officer was being replaced by a guy he had once sent up the river. Apparently the attempt on Dastun's life had been out of spite rather than strategy.

That was good news and bad news. Good news, because it meant that Enoch 'Nucky' Browning was being commanded by his whims and emotions rather than being strategic. That was okay; Roger liked it when his enemies were stupid. That usually meant they were predictable and wouldn't be a lot of work. It was also bad news, because some people were _so_ stupid that _no one_ could predict just what kind of bonehead move they would dare pull.

After the ceremony Roger approached Dastun and offered him a ride.

"You know I'm starting to feel like a freeloader," the grizzled veteran sighed from the passenger seat of Roger's car. "I've been sleeping in your house and eating your food and buying clothes with your money since I don't dare go home to my _own_ place. Now that I'm officially out of a job, I'm feeling like a real leech."

"Don't worry Dastun, you'll earn your keep," Roger smiled from the driver's seat. "I've got a lot of plates spinning that require a lot of legwork, and right now you've got nothing but time. In the meantime, how about a drink?"

* * *

Soon Roger's car was parked in front of the working class bar known as the Speakeasy. After he and Dastun exited the car, the young negotiator used a tiny remote control to activate the Cadillac's armor and turn the car into a black metal box. As Roger strode confidently into the Speakeasy, Dastun paused to stare at the car, before rolling his eyes and following him.

Waiting for them at a table was a gorgeous blonde bombshell wearing a pink jacket over a slinky black dress. "I'm impressed," she smiled. "I assumed that I'd have to wait. It's good to see you Roger. Dan, how are you doing?"

"Uh, hello," Dastun mumbled bashfully. "How've you been?" he added before wincing. 'How've you been?' How lame could he be?

"The same as you, just plain awful," she replied before sitting back and taking a drag on her cigarette. "Where's Dorothy?" she winked at Roger. "Isn't your little shadow usually at your side these days?"

"She's taking her Turing Test," Roger smiled as he sat down and opened the can of beer he had retrieved from the bartender on his way in. "I want to get her paperwork done before Browning has a chance to interfere." He took a sip. "Thanks for getting in touch with me so quickly. I was worried about you Angel. It seemed like everybody and his brother was after you for one reason or another."

"That's sweet," Angel sighed as her cheery façade cracked for a moment. She pushed a manila folder across the table to Roger. "Here you go," she said, "just as you requested. A full history and psychological profile on Enoch Browning, as full as I could get on such short notice anyway," she corrected herself.

"_This_ is where you've been getting your information on the Paradigm executives?" Dastun asked in disbelief. "From _Angel_?"

"I used to be Alex Rosewater's personal assistant," she explained. "He kept files on everybody. It just took some legwork to keep them updated after he was gone."

"Before two weeks ago, Nucky Browning wasn't even associated with Paradigm," Dastun insisted.

"No, but he's got a police record," Angel shrugged, "but you already have that memorized Dan. No, this file is a result of research into what makes Nucky the common crook turned executive he is today."

"It's important for a negotiator to get to know the person he's going to be negotiating with," Roger added as he flipped through the file. "Thanks Angel. You came through."

"Anything I should do with my other hand?" Her beautiful smile lit up the room.

"Yes, I'm looking for someone who hasn't been seen lately," the dapper young negotiator nodded. "From what I understand he used to be really big in the Paradigm Company, but lately he's been invisible. A Mister Roland Knight. I'd like to know if he's still around and if he is I'll need his location and a complete psychological write up if it's possible."

"Roland Knight?" Angel turned as white as Dorothy. "Where did you hear _that_ name?"

"I uh, picked it up," Roger stammered, startled by Angel's reaction. "I understand that he was one of the founders of the city. Even Gordon…"

"Roland Knight is dead!" Angel jumped to her feet and fidgeted with her purse. "He's in a coma! He never existed! Forget you ever heard that name you two! I got to go! I left the gas on! Brownies in the oven! I'm late to an appointment! Sorry boys gotta run! Be seeing you!" With those words, she turned and nearly dashed out of the bar, leaving Roger and Dastun speechless.

"Well _that_ wasn't suspicious," Dastun muttered after an awkward silence.

"Hm," Roger stroked his chin. "I had assumed that Roland Knight was harmlessly living as a hermit someplace. Now I'm beginning to wonder if he's still dangerous."

"Who's Roland Knight?" Dastun asked.

"That's what I want you to find out," Roger smiled. "While I keep Enoch Browning off your back I want you to find out all you can about Roland Knight. Apparently he was the Paradigm Company's first chairman before he disappeared and left Gordon Rosewater in charge. I want you to find him if possible."

"What for?"

"Why not?" Roger shrugged. "Nearly every man on the board is a criminal who Beck let out of prison during his brief stint as chairman. The way I see it, it will probably be necessary to mount a coup to clean up this city. If we do that, wouldn't it be nice to find someone with experience building a civilization out of the rubble?"

"Wait a minute, mount a coup?" Dastun started. "What are you talking about? Has it really gotten that bad? What are you saying Roger? Ever since Alex Rosewater lost it I've been trying to _prevent_ a revolution. After everything this city's been through I don't know if it can take much more!"

"Lester Young did a good job of putting things back together but Beck nearly undid all of his work overnight," Roger pointed out. "Do you really think a punk like Enoch Browning can undo Beck's damage even if he bothered to try? No, Nucky and his buddies will just carve up the city into their little empires and squash everybody else underfoot. We've got to get rid of the whole rotten bunch of them and soon, only we can't do it until we get some idea of who we're going to put in their place."

"Have you lost your mind?" Dastun gasped. "Roger, I've never seen you like this before! Plotting a revolt, this isn't like you."

"I know I'm terrified," Roger shuddered. "Do you know how much damage I could do with Big O if I put my mind to it? I could wipe out the whole city! Thinking like this proves I'm no different than Jason Beck or Alex Rosewater. That's why I want to find the guy who's done this before. He knows what he did right and what he did wrong. We can take his advice, maybe even put him in charge, but I'd rather be suspicious of Roland Knight than Roger Smith. Let's face it; Roger Smith is too dangerous to give that kind of power. I'll be breaking a lot of my own rules to get rid of Browning and if I break too many of them I'll be a bigger danger than he is. We've got to find Knight, just so he can tell us how to do it right if we got to lead a revolution. If it all goes wrong, I'll bet money that Roland Knight will be easier to get rid of than Roger Smith!"

"If Knight was the city's first chairman he's probably dead Roger," Dastun scoffed. "Either that or he's as old as the hills."

"No Big Ear seemed to think that he should only be in his sixties by now," Roger pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Before all the purges we've had most of the city's rulers were that old. Unless he's got a medical condition he should still be in good enough shape to help us out. I won't sugarcoat it though; looking for him is probably a dead end. If it wasn't for Angel's reaction to his name, I'd say that looking for Roland Knight was pointless. Now I'm thinking it's worth our time."

"And it will keep me out of your hair while you deal with Browning," Dastun sighed. "Okay, I'll go on the wild goose chase for you. It will make it hard for Nucky to find me since I won't be doing anything he would expect. In the meantime you just watch yourself okay? Don't do anything stupid."

"Don't worry Dastun, I've got a plan."

"Why am I not reassured?"

* * *

After their drink, Roger dropped Dastun off at the white tower that secretly housed Big O before driving to the testing center to pick up Dorothy.

He had to only wait a little while until the little android emerged from the examination room. "So how was it?" Roger asked her while escorting her out.

"Repetitive," she replied as they walked out of the building and went to the car. Since the attack on the city by Big Fau, so many automobiles were wrecked that finding good parking was surprisingly easy. "The process seemed more like a test for the examiners than me. It entailed a group of examiners questioning a number of subjects and trying to determine which ones are the humans and which are the androids. The procedure was quite silly. On the plus side, I believe I found a way to get extra points on my score."

"And how did you do that?"

"I informed them that I found the process boring and asked how long it was going to take," she replied. "No actual android trying for a high score would treat the procedure so flippantly."

Roger laughed out loud. "Well l can't wait to find out how your gamble paid off," he snickered. "How long do we have to wait until we see the results?"

"They told me that my score should arrive in the mail within a week or two."

* * *

Later that day Roger caught up with Enoch Browning in the central dome. The new chairman was leaving Paradigm Tower with his entourage and heading for his limousine. In Roger's black suit and sunglasses, he fit right in with the bodyguards forming a protective ring and slipped right through to walk up the chairman. "Mister Browning? I'm Roger Smith. I'm a professional negotiator. I'm representing Colonel Dastun and the Military Police."

This was Roger's first good look at the Browning brothers up close. Enoch 'Nucky' Browning was a scrawny little man in his fifties with bulging eyes and crooked teeth. He wore what he imagined a prosperous banker would wear: A blue serge suit with waistcoat, cravat, homburg hat, and wingtip shoes with spats. He even carried an umbrella with him. Elias Browning has a little taller, a little thicker, a little younger, and was dressed in his spiffy new dress uniform from his swearing in ceremony. "Colonel Dastun doesn't speak for the military police anymore," Eli Browning grunted. "I do."

As Nucky and Eli got into their limo, a black clad bodyguard attempted to stop Roger but the dapper young negotiator managed to pull the man off his feet and slide into the limo with Nucky. Before anybody knew it, the limo was moving down the street but Nucky's bodyguard had been left behind.

"What are you doing here?" Eli growled.

"Eli, calm down," Nucky waved him off while striking a thoughtful pose as he leaned on his umbrella. "Let's hear what he has to say."

"Like I said, I represent the Colonel Dastun and the Military Police," Roger handed the chairman his card.

"And like I said, Dastun ain't a colonel no more!" Eli snapped.

"I'm referring to the veteran officers you're letting go," Roger clarified, "as well as all the younger personnel who will be stuck with the new leadership."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Eli growled.

Roger's reply was like a slap in the face. "Just this: How many senior officers know how to defend the city these days? From the looks of things you seem to be removing everyone who knows what he's doing."

"We're making some changes that's all," Eli snapped, "and it's none of your goddamned business!"

"When Francis Erskine took over he did the same thing," Nucky shrugged. "So?"

"So not all of the corrupt officers that Erskine let go have been replaced yet," Roger argued. "By getting rid of the rest of the senior officers and replacing them with your drinking buddies you're placing untrained men in charge of the city's defenses. The people you're placing in charge of the Military Police have no idea how to aim artillery or maneuver their troops if anything big happened. Don't forget, the city was hit by an aerial bombardment by a foreign power earlier this year. What are you going to do if the people behind it show up in force?"

Now it was Nucky's turn to render someone speechless. "That's simple; we'll do what we always do. We'll leave it up to the black megadeus."

Roger's eyes opened wide until they nearly bulged out like Nucky's. "What?"

"Sure," Eli shrugged. "That's what always happens doesn't it? Whenever something huge comes out of the wilderness the black megadeus always takes care of it doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it was doing that before we were sent up," Nucky agreed.

Roger blinked and tried unsuccessfully to hide is surprise. "Do I understand that you intend to leave the defense of the city to a total _unknown_?"

"Sure it always worked before," Nucky shrugged. "It's been goin' on for at least eight years now. Whenever something big happens like a megadeus or a giant monster, the black megadeus comes out of the ground, trashes the place, takes care of the problem and then disappears leaving piles of rubble. No problem. All we got to worry about is making money and keeping the peace the meantime. No big deal."

Roger was speechless. After his encounters with autocrats like the Lester Young he wasn't expecting a paranoid criminal like Enoch Browning to be so relaxed about this. Could he be playing with him?

Roger cleared his throat and tried a different approach. "Mister Browning, the history of you and your brother is well known. There are those who say that given your criminal past the corruption in this city will be unspeakable. Do you really think the black megadeus will lift a finger to save your regime if it's seriously threatened?"

"I don't see why not," Enoch Browning was surprisingly nonchalant and unoffended by Roger's remark. "I'm no worse than the last guy. All of the Paradigm executives have been a bunch of crooks to one extent or another. But I've learned my lesson. I'm not stupid like Beck or Rosewater. As long as you don't try to destroy the city with a giant robot the black megadeus will come to the rescue but otherwise leave you alone. Do you really think whoever controls the black megadeus gives a damn which fat cat is in charge of the city? Not a chance. As long as Paradigm exists the black megadeus will be there."

Once again Roger's mouth hung open before he composed himself. "I have to admire your faith in a power you have _no control over_," he muttered. "I just hope that whoever controls the black megadeus still thinks that this crummy city is _worth saving_."

"Beck seemed to think that there was a person inside who controlled it," Nucky shrugged. "He acted like he knew his name and everything, but personally I think that it's just a computer running it that's been programmed to protect the city. That's why it defends the city no matter who's in charge. When Rosewater took control of the white megadeus, the black one identified him as a threat and took him out. As soon as he attacked the city and announced that he was starting a 'new order' he was no longer the head of the city and considered a viable target. Dumb ass. I ain't gonna make that mistake, so the black megadeus should come to my rescue before I'm even in danger."

"Yeah, all we got to worry about is smaller man sized threats," Eli agreed, "and speaking of threats, you're sitting right where Nucky's bodyguard should be. When we stop at the next traffic light, get out!"

"Sorry Mister Smith, time is money," Nucky grinned a crooked smile as the car slowed. "See you in the funny papers."

* * *

On a desk filled with hourglasses a phone rings. Roger's hand picks up the receiver and a sinister voice says:

_Next: _ _Bigger Problems_


	5. Bigger Problems

_The Big O and all of its settings and characters are owned by Bandai Visual, Sunrise, and Cartoon Network._

THE BIG O:

ACT 37

MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW

_Chapter Five: Bigger Problems_

A few days later Enoch 'Nucky' Browning and his men were in a stylish penthouse apartment. They were surveying the room instead of making themselves at home. "Here it is, boys, Jason Beck's place," Browning announced. "Somewhere in here is a clue to how he took over the city in one month. Let's get crackin'. I'll take the desk. Eli, you take the closet, and Jacob will take the bedroom. Bob and Jay fan out. Come on, time is money people."

As the gangsters turned executives searched the apartment, they didn't find much.

"It don't look like he spent much time here Nucky," Elias Browning, Nucky's younger brother and newly installed commandant of the Military Police reported from the closet. He wore a Military Police uniform with the rank insignia of a general. "He's got enough yellow suits in his closet to dress up half of Ninth Avenue as canaries."

"Keep lookin' there's gotta be somethin'," Nucky ordered as he looked through the desk. It was so clean and organized that he doubted Beck had ever opened any of the drawers. "You're going to be the marshal of the Military Police for crying out loud. You know how to look for clues don't you? Knowing Beck, if he had a something he wanted to hide he'd do it in a spectacularly clichéd fashion like," his voice trailed off, "taping an envelope to the bottom of the drawer!" he gasped as he felt on the bottom of the main drawer he had opened. He crouched and looked underneath. "I don't believe it!" he gasped. "Eli! Come take a look! That son of a gun Beck actually taped a manila envelope under the drawer!" When his brother joined him at the desk he used his penknife to remove the duct tape from the envelope so he could free it. "Let's open it and see what it says."

"In the event of my death or disappearance," Elias read the words written in felt pen on the front. "What the heck? Beck's disappeared and presumed dead so you might as well open it."

"Okay," Nucky used his penknife to unseal the envelope before pulling three sheets of paper out of it. "That's it? That huge envelope and only three sheets of paper?"

"What does it say?"

"To Whom It May Concern, in the event of my death, whoever is chosen as my successor should know that…" he paused.

"Yeah?" his brother asked him. "Should know what?"

"Cancel the contract on Dastun!" Nucky gasped. "We got bigger problems!"

* * *

The next day Roger's car was driving through the damaged streets of the city. "I thought we talked it out," Roger argued. "You can't just change your mind like this! It's not like there are a bunch of android repair shops around. We've _got_ to study your evil twin Dorothy! We have to learn how your unique body works if we want to repair it! You're different from other androids, and your twisted sister is the only model to go by!"

"I've made up my mind. I don't want you studying that creature Roger Smith," the little android retorted. "I don't even want its remains in the building. You know how I feel about it. It is _not_ my sister. Some very bad people simply used my father's design to create an assassin."

"We've been through this," Roger snapped as he steered the long black Cadillac down the damaged streets of the city. "I agree with Norman: I want to know how your body works without having to take you apart to find out. Before I try to repair you, I want to know exactly what I'm doing. And your suggestion that we dispose of your sister's remains is absurd! What if you need a spare part on short notice?"

"I don't want any component that was part of that thing," she said coldly. "I refuse to make it a part of me."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Roger snorted. "What if we can't make you a replacement part? What if your components wear out? I know it seems horrible but it's for your own good! Are you even listening?"

"I listen all the time Roger," she assured him. "I'm just not agreeing with you."

As a construction worker blocked traffic by holding a stop sign Roger put on the brake and tried a different approach. "Okay, let's change the subject. Do you know where you're going?"

"I have an appointment with Doctor Earhart on the eighth floor of the Baxter Building." she said as the construction worker turned his sign to 'slow' and allowed traffic to resume once again. "Are you sure he's qualified?"

"I've heard he's one of the few psychologists in the city qualified to give a Rossum Evaluation," Roger shrugged. "Why? Are you nervous? I don't blame you. This is a big step for you. You need to pass this to get your legal rights."

"I don't get worried like you do," she assured him. "I'm only an android."

"R Dorothy Wayneright!" Roger growled. "Thinking like that could cause you to fail. Do you want me to slap you?"

"If you do you'll risk hurting your hand," the girl said without batting an eye. "That kind of proves my point, doesn't it?"

"I'm getting sick of this 'I'm only an android' nonsense!" he snapped. "You've been saying that for almost a month! I'm not putting up with it anymore!"

"Saying that you won't put up with it won't change the fact that I'm an android," she said as the cars moved forward only to jerk to a stop again. "I don't count."

"Dammit Dorothy, you count!" Roger insisted. "Your opinions and feelings matter! You deserve to live a long happy life and I want to make sure that happens. You're not just an unfeeling robot, you're also a caring and sweet young girl or are you too heartless and insensitive to see that? What's gotten into you anyway?"

"Roger, you can't get too connected to me," she told him. "I'm not a real girl. I'm not even the real Dorothy Wayneright."

"If that's true, then I'm not the real Roger Smith!" he thumped his chest as they followed the line of cars trying to get past the bulldozers and cranes. "What am I supposed to do now if you're so smart? You got an answer for that Dorothy?"

"Live your own life, not a life from the forgotten past," she told him as they finally passed the construction site and traffic speeded up. "You can't live the life of the Roger Smith from forty years ago any more than I can live the life of that dead girl. Unless of course, people really _are_ ruled by their Memories, then there's no point pretending you're a free human being."

Roger sputtered in frustration before he calmed down enough to retort. "I thought you didn't want me to think of you as a child," Roger sneered. "You're acting pretty childish if you don't mind me saying."

"I thought you wanted me to make my own decisions and be my own person," she countered. "If you've changed your mind I can bow to your every whim and obey you without question. Otherwise, my opinion stands."

Roger let out a groan as they entered the central dome. "Okay, we're almost at the testing center. Just answer their questions honestly, don't hide anything, and you'll do just fine."

"I've already taken the Turing Test; it seems unfair that I should need a Rossum Evaluation as well. It will take hours and I can't expect you to wait," Dorothy complained stoically. "Norman and I have ordered a new dress for me. The only clothes I have are last year's, and I don't even have very much of that."

"Just be grateful you can buy new clothes at all," Roger snorted. "The textile dome has only been up and running for a month or two. The agricultural and manufacturing domes were given priority. At this rate, you should be happy if you can buy a new set of _last year's_ clothing."

"You would probably _buy_ last year's clothing," the little android retorted. "For a man who claims to abandon the past, you are notoriously tradition-bound."

"Dorothy, try to pretend that we're doing this for _you_," Roger snapped as they entered a parking garage and looked for a parking space. "Examining your evil twin, learning robotics, studying your blueprints, getting your Rossum Evaluation over with, all of these things are for your benefit." Roger let out a sigh. He knew why he and Dorothy couldn't agree on anything right now. They were both avoiding what they should have been discussing and taking their anxieties out on each other. Even so he had to ask. "Why are you acting like such a pill, anyway?"

"I never had a rebellious phase," the girl replied. "If you're serious about dating, I want to get my teenage years behind me before we go out on Friday. I wouldn't want you to feel like you're dating an underage girl, Roger. That could make things awkward for you."

"Fine Dorothy, just try to be your normal lovable self while you're in there," Roger smirked as they pulled into a parking space. With so many cars out of action these days finding a parking space was easier than it used to be. "I don't want your evaluator to bias your evaluation just because you've chosen to get tetchy."

"Do you find me lovable Roger?" the girl asked in a gentle monotone.

"Of course I do, I asked you on a date didn't I?" he growled as they got out of the car. "I try to be a gentleman, but it's hard to do when you've got my emotions jumping around all over the place. Now come on. You don't want to be late."

If Roger would have glanced behind him he would have noticed that the little android following him out of the parking garage almost appeared to be smiling.

* * *

"All right Dorothy, I'll be back in three hours to check on you," Roger told her while they were in the waiting room on the eighth floor. Looking around, it appeared no different from a waiting room in any doctor's or dentist's office, including a coffee table with magazines at least five years old. He had wondered if the waiting room would be completely bare for androids but he realized that they would have to leave something for any human guardians that would wait for them. How many times had an android had a Rossum evaluation in the last year anyway? This was a doctor's office. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Of course Roger," the girl assured him. "Don't worry about it."

"I've got an appointment with a contact," Roger told her. "That should keep me busy in the meantime. If you need anything and can't reach me, call home. Norman or Dastun should pick up. Take care." He gave her a hug, and after a pause she hugged back. "I'm worried," he murmured. "I can't help thinking this is a bad idea."

"We both know I have to do it," she replied. "Go Roger. I'll be fine."

The look on his face was uneasy but he put on his sunglasses, left the waiting room and took the elevator down to the ground floor.

* * *

It was only ten minutes before an attendant summoned Dorothy into the examiner's office. "Miss Wayneright? This way please."

When she entered the room she saw a number of tough looking men in the room. One of them had a sniper's rifle on a tripod that was pointed out the window.

"What is all this?" the girl asked another man closed the door behind her.

"Miss Wayneright?" a short skinny man with protuberant eyes and crooked teeth smiled. "Hello there. I'm Enoch Browning and I'd like you to do something for me. Could you take look through the scope of that rifle in the window?"

"What for?"

"Just do it," Browning said in a conversational tone. "I want to show you something. Go on. Take a look."

"Very well." She was careful not to allow any expression on her face as she walked over to the rifle. The sniper stepped aside and pointed at the eyepiece. She looked at the men before peering through the scope.

Right in the crosshairs was Roger Smith, sitting on a bench at a bus stop on the other side of the square. From this angle cars and pedestrians were no obstacle to an unobstructed view. She looked back at Browning.

"That's not the only rifle trained on him," Browning informed her. "I've got another man on the same floor and a third in another building. I just want to make sure you follow orders."

"What do you want?"

"I want you to come with us nice and quietly without a struggle," Browning replied. "Play nice and your boyfriend will see another sunrise. Otherwise I can't guarantee his safety."

"Why are you doing this?" Dorothy asked. "What did Roger do to you?"

"I need a bargaining chip in some negotiations coming up," Browning shrugged. "It's as simple as that. There's no need to make this any more unpleasant that it has to be Miss Wayneright. I came along myself to make sure nobody got rough."

"Very chivalrous of you," she said dryly. "I'm sure that will be a great comfort while I am a prisoner."

* * *

Down on the street, Roger fidgeted and checked his wristwatch. "I'm wasting my time," he muttered. "He's not going to show. I have better things to do than—huh?" he blinked as his watch started chiming. He pressed a hidden stud and a postage stamped sized image of Norman appeared on the miniature clock face. "Yes Norman? What is it?"

"You have a call from the Paradigm Corporation sir," his butler informed him. "They expect you to meet the new chairman at his office within the hour."

"Thank you Norman," Roger nodded before signing off. He took a deep breath before letting it out slowly as he cupped his face. He prayed nothing had gone wrong. He was about to find out.

* * *

"Hello Mister Browning," he said as he entered the new chairman's office. "What can I do for you on this fine day? I presume you've reconsidered your position on Colonel Dastun and the other senior officers you've dismissed."

"Hey, don't barge in here acting like you own the place Smith," Nucky snapped. We got a lot to talk about, you and I. In the meantime quiet down and I'll do the talking. Aren't you supposed to kiss my butt or something? I'm the chairman of the Paradigm Corporation. How about a little respect?"

"Believe me Mister Chairman I'm giving you all the respect you deserve," Roger parried. "If you want acknowledgement I'll have my valet send flowers. Getting back to the topic of Colonel Dastun and those senior officers, you still need them to maintain order and dispense justice."

"Forget about those senior officers. If you wanna talk to a senior officer you can talk to my brother Eli over there," Nucky gestured to his brother who was behind Roger blocking the door. Instead of a dress uniform Eli was dressed in a rank appropriate patrolman's uniform complete with pistol and nightstick. "You remember him, right?" Nucky asked, "The new commandant of the Military Police? Forget about Dastun. _Eli's_ the go-to guy on matters of justice now."

"Believe me Mister Browning I wouldn't want to waste anyone's time by going to your brother on a matter of justice," Roger replied dryly. "If there isn't anything else, I'd like to get back to the topic of…"

"Actually there is," Nucky produced a manila envelope and set it down on his desk. "There _is_ something else. Before Beck disappeared he left me some instructions and do you know what they said?"

"To be opened in the event of my death or disappearance," Roger read the capital felt tip black letters on the face of it. "That's pretty melodramatic. Sounds like Beck all right. Okay, I'll bite. What's in here, a treasure map?"

"In this envelope he left us three typewritten pages telling us all about you and the megadeus," Nucky said with an edge to his voice, "as well as instructions on how to handle you. Pretty considerate of him, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah," Roger's eyes narrowed. "Very considerate."

"I'll cut to the chase, Smith," Nucky told him. "The long and short of it is, you're going to turn over the black megadeus to me."

Roger laughed bitterly. "What makes you think I have it? Beck's idea of a joke?"

"No before he disappeared, Beck talked alot about you and the message he left me in this envelope tells me why," Nucky smirked. "You're going to turn over the megadeus to me, like I said."

"Or what?" Roger snorted. "You'll kill me?"

"No or we'll kill R Dorothy Wayneright," Nucky replied, "first," he corrected himself. "We'd kill her first, but don't worry, we'd eventually get around to you."

"You rat!" Roger reached across the desk and pulled Nucky right out of his chair. "You stupid punk!" Roger shouted as he picked him up punched him in the jaw. "You've gone too far Browning! Dorothy's an innocent—ah!"

Nucky's brother Elias had his baton in his hand and was clobbering Roger with it. "Get off him!" he growled as he cracked Roger on the back of the head with his billy club. Roger dropped Nucky and staggered forward. The dazed negotiator saw stars and the room wobbled back and forth before it tipped over and disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

On a desk filled with hourglasses a phone rings. Roger's hand picks up the receiver and a sinister voice says:

_Next: _ _Unconditional Surrender_


	6. Unconditional Surrender

_The Big O and all of its settings and characters are owned by Bandai Visual, Sunrise, and Cartoon Network._

THE BIG O:

ACT 37

MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW

_Chapter Six: Unconditional Surrender_

_When you get hit like that there's no point resisting. The smart thing to do is to lie back and let the darkness swallow you, but you don't, because deep down you're afraid that if you surrender to the inevitable and close your eyes you'll never get a chance to open them again. It took only a second blow to the head to send me to Slumberland, and I didn't know if I'd ever make it back._

_I was lucky; I got to open my eyes again, although at the time I wasn't sure that the definition of 'luck' was what it said in the dictionary. From the way my head felt I might have been luckier if my eyes stayed closed. As it was I could only open one of them for the first ten minutes._

_They were talking, but it was all distorted as if they were underwater. My vision was blurry too so it took a while to take in my surroundings. Eventually I recognized them. I was in an interrogation room at Military Police Headquarters. Nucky and Eli were talking and there were two goons who had probably been in prison before they joined the force just days ago. Eventually Nucky and Eli started talking to me so I grimaced and nodded and pretended to understand them._

"I said, 'are you awake now Mister Negotiator?'" Enoch 'Nucky' Browning shouted as he slapped Roger's face. "I dunno Eli; I think you hit him too hard."

"He's awake all right," his brother Elias shrugged. "He's just lazy. Step on his foot if you don't believe me."

"Not a chance you punks," Roger slurred. "These are new shoes."

"Keep it up and they'll look like your face Mister Negotiator," Eli warned him.

"As long as they don't look like yours," Roger muttered.

"Okay, we can take out our peckers and measure them for size, but some of us got things to do," Nucky interrupted. "You listening to me Negotiator?"

"Trying not to, but some of the words keep getting through," Roger shrugged. "Why am I in these cuffs?" He struggled in his chair where his hands were bound behind him. "Am I under arrest or something? What's the charge?"

"Assaulting the new Paradigm Chairman," Elias said as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Yeah, where do you get off attacking me like that?" Nucky glowered. "I'm the chairman, my brother's commandant of the Military Police, I got your girlfriend hostage, and I can have you killed. What the hell is the matter with you?"

"Sorry, when someone kidnaps Dorothy I tend to hurt them," Roger shrugged. "Call it a reflex if you want. Well now, now that you got my attention what do you want Nucky? You must have gone through all this for something."

"What do I want?" Nucky growled. "How hard did Eli hit you anyway? I want the megadeus, you nitwit. What do you think I want? A year's supply of hair gel?"

"You kidnapped Dorothy Wayneright Mister Chairman," Roger sparred. "Last time I looked that was a felony. You even made your ransom demands in front of a Military Police officer," he nodded at Eli. "If there was any justice in this city it would be _you_ who'd be getting arrested."

"Ooh, sorry champ, that kidnapping charge just won't stick," Nucky teased.

"Why?" Roger snorted. "Your brother hard of hearing or something?"

"It wasn't kidnapping, it was confiscation," Eli offered.

"It seems that Miss Wayneright never had a Rossum Evaluation," Nucky shrugged. "With only a Turing Test on record she's not considered a real person. Legally, she's a thing. The most she can hope for is to be considered a ward of the state."

"She's confiscated evidence in a cold case," Eli added. "We've all been pardoned for our crimes by Beck Mister Smith. There are no outstanding warrants on us. So you see the only one who's broken the law here is _you_."

Both the Browning brothers had a good laugh over this.

"Ha-ha fellas," Roger grimaced, "but despite the coat of paint on you two underneath there's still the same old filth. Before the Big Amnesia there was a saying: A leopard can't change his spots."

"There aren't any leopards anymore except stuffed ones in museums Negotiator," Nucky mocked.

"My point exactly Nucky," Roger smirked.

"Keep that up and you're going to lose an eye," Elias warned him.

"Hold on a minute Eli, you're commandant of the Military Police now," Nucky scolded. "Come on, we're respectable these days. Beck pardoned us, we got a fresh start. We're pillars of the community, not gangsters, remember? We don't make threats like that anymore."

"My apologies Mister Chairman," Eli smirked. "I meant that the technicians in the forensic lab are ready to remove the eye of that android we brought in."

"I hope it won't be necessary," Nucky said with false sympathy.

"Okay, I get it," Roger sighed. "You want to see which robot I love the most is that it? Okay, I'll choose. I choose Dorothy is that what you wanted to hear? I choose Dorothy. Now lay off."

"Good boy Mister Smith," Nucky smiled. "Don't try any funny business and I'll drop the assault charge too, what do you say?"

"I said yes," Roger growled. "There's no need to gloat."

"I'm taking it as a luxury," Nucky shrugged. He then fished in his pockets and produced Roger's wristwatch. "Now we got the control device. Beck's notes said it was the watch."

"Okay, bring it here and I'll summon Big O," Roger nodded.

"What? Are you crazy?" Nucky took a step back from Roger and covered the wristwatch as if he was protecting his own child. "Summon it _now_? We're in the middle of town you idiot! What the hell is the matter with you? The damn thing will totally wreck the place. No we got a better place in mind if that's okay."

"Not without proof that Dorothy's all right it's not!"

* * *

Soon Roger, Dorothy, the Browning brothers and a host of ex-cons who were now Military Police officers were at an abandoned airport where a large hanger big enough for a dirigible was waiting for them. As they got out of official Military Police cars, Roger and Dorothy saw each other for the first time since her abduction. Nucky had added his hat and umbrella to his striped business suit, attempting to look like a successful banker. Eli was in his Military Police uniform.

"Dorothy!" Roger shouted as he was taken out of his police car. "Are you okay?"

"Roger," the girl called back. "You're hurt."

"I'll be all right Dorothy!" Roger shouted back as he tried to escape the thugs in uniform who were restraining him. "Don't worry about me!"

"Okay Mister Smith, as you can see we haven't hurt a hair on Miss Wayneright's head," Nucky interrupted. "Now it's time for your part of the deal." He held up the watch to Roger's face. "Summon the megadeus and don't try anything funny. We've got both you and Miss Wayneright covered."

Roger gulped and looked at Dorothy. He licked his lips before he spoke quietly. "Big O. Action."

The ground started shaking before the tarmac erupted to reveal a humungous black robot. The robot was an ungainly metal giant towering over fifty feet tall. Two vaguely humanoid legs supported its barrel shaped body. The enormous arms of the megadeus were in reality massive piledrivers with huge mechanical hands instead of chisels. The head of Big O was an impassive face that was dwarfed by the megadeus' humungous body.

For a moment the crowd of crooked cops stared at the obsidian giant in awe. The one holding a gun on Roger backed away from him.

"Okay, I've done what you want," Roger stammered. "Now let Dorothy go."

The assorted men cried out as the Big O took a step towards them. It knelt and placed one of its massive hands and the ground palm up as its crimson collar rose to obscure its face and reveal the control room.

"Sorry, it does that," Roger smirked nervously.

"What does it want?" Elias Browning asked timidly.

"Its pilot." This time Roger's smirk was smug.

"So you get onto its hand and it takes you up to the cockpit just like that?" Nucky asked. "Is it safe?"

"I don't know Nucky, why don't you climb into its hand and find out?" Roger retorted. "Or do you want me to show you how to do it?"

"No thanks Smitty, we'll take it from here," Nucky backed away nervously as he put the watch back into his pocket. "Eli, take Mister Smith to Riker's Isle, then get a detachment to guard the area and give them orders to shoot to kill. I don't want anybody messing with it until we know what we're dealing with."

"Riker's Isle?" Roger asked with a hint of sarcasm. "What about dropping the assault charge?"

"Forget the assault charge, Smith you got bigger problems to worry about!" Nucky retorted. "We're charging you with possession and use of a weapon of mass destruction! An assault charge is peanuts to what you're facing!"

"I figured as much," Roger shrugged. "What about Dorothy Wayneright? Are you going to let her go or what?"

"She's a ward of the state until we can reschedule her Rossum Evaluation," Nucky told him. "Don't know how long that's going to take. My predecessor really left the city a mess, did you know that? But don't worry, I'll try to get everything sorted out and fix things…"

"You rat!" Even with his hands cuffed behind his back, Roger lunged towards the little gangster. "Are you going to hold up your end to even one part of the deal?"

"I'm holding up my end to every part of the deal," Nucky protested. "I said I won't harm Miss Wayneright and I haven't. And the only reason I'm not letting her go because I made her a promise too."

"Made her a promise?" Roger seethed as Nucky's men held him back. "What promise is that?"

"I told her that if she came along quietly and didn't try to escape I wouldn't kill _you_," Nucky told him. "If I let her go, I'd have to kill you or you'd find some way to escape and sic the black megadeus on me. This way I know you'll behave yourself. And I know little Dorothy will behave herself too, because she doesn't want anything to happen to _you_. You see, I got it all figured out."

"There's no way you could have come up with that," Roger growled as he shook off Nucky's goons. "Let me guess, Beck's message again? That punk is dead and he _still_ finds a way to humiliate me?"

"Yeah, you got me," Nucky laughed sheepishly. "But you gotta admit, it worked out pretty good so far didn't it? Beck's problem was that he had to prove he was the better man. I don't gotta prove any such thing. I'm just a guy who got lucky and now I can watch out for me and mine. In the meantime, behave yourself in the joint and try not to get shanked, 'cause we might need some technical advice on how to control this monster. See you around Smith." He nodded to his brother who took him away.

"Not if I see you first," Roger growled as Eli pushed his head down to force him into the police car. Roger's car had two other vehicles escorting it. They were taking no chances.

As the police cars drove away, Nucky walked over to Dorothy. "There, he's okay. He took a quite a bump to the head but he'll be all right. Are you happy now?"

"I will need regular contact with Roger to verify his safety," Dorothy replied. "If visiting him in person is not possible, telephone calls at specific intervals will have to suffice."

Nucky laughed. "You're all business aren't you? Okay, I can respect that. So how do you get into the cockpit anyway?"

"Roger usually climbs onto Big O's hand and is taken up to the cockpit," Dorothy explained as she gestured in order to demonstrate.

"Okay, here goes nothin'," Nucky shuddered as he climbed up between the thumb and forefinger. "A little boost here?" he asked as he struggled to get onto the huge metal hand. Dorothy helped him up and soon he was standing in Big O's palm. "Okay, now what?" He put Roger's watch up to his lips. "Okay, Big O take me in. I want to get in the cockpit. All aboard. Hey Dollface!" he called down to Dorothy. "How do you get this thing to work, Sugar?"

"Big O takes Roger to the cockpit as soon as he steps into its hand," the girl replied.

"Yeah, yeah, so why isn't it taking me?" Nucky asked.

"You're not Roger."

"I got the watch."

"It doesn't matter," the girl explained. "Big O will only accept Roger. It won't work for anyone else."

"What?" Nucky frowned. "So how do I get it to go?"

"I haven't the slightest idea," the girl said dryly.

"Will it work if someone can get into the cockpit?"

"I don't know," Dorothy said. "Perhaps."

Nucky frowned at the android girl. "You're just bendin' over backwards to help me aren't 'cha?"

"The agreement you made with Roger was for him to turn over the black megadeus," the girl retorted. "You made no provisions about being able to make it move. Roger and I both fulfilled our bargains with you."

"I _thought_ it was too easy," Nucky sighed. "Shoulda known better."

* * *

At that moment, Dastun was at the Paradigm City Clerk's Office. Instead of his uniform he was in civilian clothing covered by a fedora and a raincoat. He was talking to a young Military Police lieutenant as they walked through the archives under the building.

"Well thanks for watching my back Shepherd," Dastun said as they followed the clerk past lockers and file cabinets. "I didn't want to get bumped off while getting my private investigator's license. I'm staying with a friend now so I won't be able to pick up my mail."

"I don't understand how you got the judge to sign off on this sir," the lieutenant shook his head as he looked at the warrant in his hands.

"Judge Reinhold signed off on this," Dastun replied. "He was the judge who sent Nucky Browning up the creek. He knows that his head is on the block next if we don't find something that can help us get some leverage over him."

"Begging your pardon sir, but what are we looking for way down here?" Shepherd asked. "The records down here are decades old. Anything we can use against Browning would be upstairs."

"We're looking for someone who doesn't exist anymore," Dastun told him. "If we're lucky, he's still alive."

"That's placing a lot of trust in luck sir," Shepherd snorted.

"Tell me about it," Dastun grumbled. "This is supposed to be part of some 'master plan' to clean up this city but it just looks like busy work to make sure I keep my head down and don't become a target."

"Well, busy work or no, I'd follow you into hell sir," Shepherd assured him. "Which is more than I can say about the new commandant," he added bitterly. "Eli Browning has a rap sheet as long as my arm."

"Tell me about it," Dastun sighed. "The Browning brothers aren't as bad as Beck was I guess but even so they're rotten to the core. And they'll just get more dangerous as soon as they get entrenched and gain some real power!"

* * *

In the meantime Roger was taken out of the police car in front of a walled compound that looked like a medieval fortress. "Out of the car Smith," Eli Browning ordered.

"You boys had me worried there," Roger admitted. "When you drove here using the back roads I thought you were going to bump me off."

"Nucky made a promise to your robot girlfriend and is feeling chivalrous," Eli grunted. "Even so, you ain't gonna see the light of day for quite a while. Welcome to your new home Mister Smith: Riker's Isle. Have fun spending your time in prison. I know I sure did."

* * *

On a desk filled with hourglasses a phone rings. Roger's hand picks up the receiver and a sinister voice says:

_Next: Ye Guilty_


	7. Ye Guilty

_The Big O and all of its settings and characters are owned by Bandai Visual, Sunrise, and Cartoon Network._

THE BIG O:

ACT 37

MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW

_Chapter Seven: Ye Guilty_

Riker's Island was the site of Paradigm City's prison. It was believed to have been named after a man named William Riker, but of course nobody knew who he was anymore. Some spotty records indicated that Will Riker was an astronaut or a naval commander. Other accounts said that he was a Dutch Settler from long ago. In the end, it really didn't matter.

It certainly didn't matter to Roger Smith. He had traded in his black double breasted suit for a horizontal white and black bee-striped uniform. Here he was just another number; they had taken away his name. It was ridiculous. He hadn't even been processed yet. He should be in lockup not prison. Hadn't Nucky ever heard of due process? He hadn't even got his phone call. He tried to cheer himself up with the thought that the Browning brothers could have just put two bullets in the back of his head but it didn't help much.

Now he was out of his cell and in the exercise yard, mingling with all the other people who had their lives taken from them or had thrown their lives away. Many of these people were those who had been forcefully evicted during Jason Beck's brief tenure as Chairman of the Board. They weren't dangerous criminals, just those who had been abused by those in power. He had a feeling the Nucky Browning wasn't going to be much different than Beck, just less theatrical.

"Hey Lieutenant Smith!" Of course, there were still a few prisoners who deserved to be in here.

"Do I know you?" Roger asked a tall athletic blond man who had been at the weight pile with his four cronies.

"Yeah, you put me away for robbery nine years ago," the blond growled. "I still got a year on my sentence to go. Buster Cobb. Ring any bells now?"

Roger smiled and shrugged and made a big show of looking nonchalant. "Nope. I put a lot of punks away when I was cop. I guess you weren't that memorable."

Buster Cobb laughed bitterly and shook his head. "I heard you quit the force and became a negotiator Smith. Made a truckload of money too."

"Yeah, I've done pretty well for myself," Roger smiled. "Glad we could catch up like this. So tell me Cobb, what have you been doing these past nine years? Make any good investments or anything?"

Cobb's eyes narrowed and he clenched his fists. "You _are_ something Smith. It's going to be a pleasure to kick your ass." He nodded to his friends who circled the two adversaries. "I don't get it. For a negotiator you aren't even _trying_ to talk your way out of this."

"You don't understand Cobb, I've had a bad day," Roger smiled and shrugged. "I'm not in the mood for talking. As a matter of fact my day's been so bad that I'm willing to take it out on anyone here, and you've just cut to the front of the line. But since a negotiator only uses force as a last resort, I'm going to give you one last chance to walk away."

"Are you kidding?" Cobb smirked. "It's five against one."

"Nope." Roger shook his head. "I'm afraid you're mistaken; the way I see it, it's more like three against one."

Cobb grinned widely as he looked right and left at his four friends. "How do you figure? Including me I count five."

"That's easy Cobb," Roger's smile clashed with his frowning eye. "I'll explain it to you slow, so you can keep up. It's simple. Once I take out the leader, that would be you, I'll have to contend with one or two of your enthusiastic teammates. I've done this lots of times and in my experience, the last two guys don't really count: most of the time they take off without throwing a punch."

"Oh, you think you're a tough guy don't you Smith?" Cobb dared him.

"I was tough enough to make you cry like a little girl nine years ago," Roger shrugged. "You tell me." When Cobb assumed a fighting stance, Roger smiled grimly. "_That's _better. But remember: you asked for it."

Cobb grinned back but it obvious that he was trying to control the conflicting emotions of hatred and trepidation. In his eagerness, he telegraphed his blow, allowing Roger to duck under it, catch his arm and elbow him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground.

The toughs that Cobb had befriended in prison didn't know how to react. Cobb was down in less than a second, but Roger wasn't through.

"Come on, get up," Roger muttered as he pulled Cobb up by his back of his shirt collar. Cobb staggered to his feet, stunned, not even facing Roger. "Can you hear me Cobb? Are you okay? Good," Roger nodded before he kicked Cobb in the groin.

Cobb cried out as his eyes rolled back into his head before collapsing to the ground.

Roger glanced around at the four men surrounding him. All of them had their mouths gaping open, but only two took some tentative steps forward. "Come on fellas, I haven't got all day," Roger smirked. "If we're going to do this, let's dance. I've  
still got a lot of issues and you guys can help me work through them."

With an animal grunt one of the men struck at Roger, only for the negotiator to catch his arm and chop at it before punching him in the face.

Big O's pilot turned as smoothly as a dancer to elbow the face of the second man lunging for him. He used his momentum to bounce off the second man to strike at the first man again, blocking a blow and pulling him into a third man who punched ineffectively at Roger's ribs. He blocked a blow from the second man and struck him in the chin, sending him to the ground. The first man kicked at Roger's head but Roger was able to seize his leg and twist it.

His prisoner cried out and flailed his arms in an attempt to keep his balance. Roger glared at the two remaining men who were still standing. One of them still hadn't struck a single blow. Without breaking his gaze at the two of them, he punched his prisoner in the groin as a demonstration of what would happen should they cross him. As his prisoner cried out and groaned in pain the cowardly duo just stared and made no attempt to assist.

"Really? You're not going to help him at _all_?" Roger snorted. "It's a good thing he's got friends he can count on," he sneered before he kicked his prisoner in the groin and released him. As his screaming foe fell to the ground, Roger put his hands up in a 'come hither' gesture. "Come on fellas, I'm not finished yet. I've had a real bad day, and I want to take it out on somebody. Anybody. _Everybody_."

His two remaining foes fled as the prison guards arrived to break up the fight.

* * *

Back at the abandoned airport, the Browning brothers had sent for a crane basket. "Are you sure the parking brake is set on that thing?" Eli asked Dorothy.

"Big O won't move without Roger's command," she assured him as Elias Browning kept an eye on her.

"Okay, here goes nothin'," Nucky grunted as he got into the man basket. "All right, take me up," he called  
as he gestured with his umbrella. The crane delivered the basket up to the opening in Big O's chest and the little gangster exited the basket and entered the control room.

"What's it like Nucky?" his brother called up.

"It's like a time machine or something," Nucky called back. "There's a chair with joysticks and three little screens in front of it, and all these buttons and dials and knobs arranged around the chair. Honestly, it's like a time machine. I'll bet when it operates one screen tells you where you've been, another tells you where you are, the third tells you where you're going!"

"What are you talking about Nucky?" Elias shouted.

"Nothing!" he bellowed back. "I'm saying there's a truck load of controls up here! I don't even know where to start. Send the android up here!"

"Will do."

Soon the crane and basket delivered Dorothy up to the control room.

"Okay Angel how do I work this thing?" Nucky asked her.

"Don't call me that," Dorothy said.

"Call you what?"

"Angel," she replied in a clipped voice. "That's not my name. You can call me other things but please don't call me 'Angel' ever again."

"Okay, _Dollface_," Nucky corrected himself. "Is that better?"

"Marginally," she conceded in her icy monotone, "but I can't help wondering: If remembering my name is too difficult for you operating a megadeus seems ambitious."

"Don't worry Sugar I'm plenty ambitious," Nucky assured her. "So how do I make this work anyhow? I just want to make it walk into the hangar. Nothing fancy."

"If you must know Roger just sits in the chair and operates the pedals."

"Oh," Nucky bent over to peer and the pedals before climbing into the chair. "I don't see what that will do because there's no power."

As soon as the words left his mouth the chamber lit up with a crimson glow as the collar slid down to seal them off from the outside world. The screens rose from the floor to sit before him like a podium as the curved arms ending in joysticks closed around him, knocking the umbrella out of his hand. Lights lit up on the control panel as a message scrolled upon the screen: CAST IN THE NAME OF GOD YE GUILTY.

"Ye guilty?" Nucky stammered. "What the hell does thatmean?"

"It means that Big O hates you," Dorothy said.

"That sound!" Nucky jumped in the control chair. "What's that whooshing sound?"

"Big O is pumping the air out of the cockpit," Dorothy told him. "It is very angry with you. It hates you for some reason."

"The air!" Nucky gasped. "You don't understand! We _need_ air!"

"_You_ need air," Dorothy corrected. "I'm an android."

"Ah!" Nucky's bulging eyes seemed to be bulging even more than usual as he grabbed his head. "What's happening?" he gasped. "My body feels like it's blowing up like a balloon!" His voice was a raspy whisper now.

"The loss of air pressure is affecting your equilibrium," Dorothy reported. "As an organic being, a total loss of air pressure will cause your soft tissues to burst. That's enough Big O. You may stop now."

Nucky choked and tried to scream but was having a hard time getting enough air to properly do so. That didn't stop him from trying.

"Big O, release him," Dorothy implored stoically. "You don't want to do this. It will be all right. Roger has a plan. Let him go." When that didn't work, the little android raised her voice. "Big O! I demand you release Mister Browning at once! They will hurt Roger if he is killed! Let him go! Please! Big O! Let him go I'm begging you!"

The crimson collar rose, causing a blast of air to whoosh in, pushing Dorothy backwards, and knocking Nucky senseless. On the central screen was the message: YE NOT.

"Thank you Big O," the girl said softly. "I'm sorry we had to put you through this."

Nucky groaned and gurgled as blood flowed from his nostrils. Dorothy pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and pinched his nose with it. Nucky struggled against her. Finally the girl released him. "What-what are ya doin'?" he demanded as he staggered to his feet before falling back down. "Are you tryin' t' kill me?"

"Your nose is bleeding," the girl informed him. "I was merely trying to stop the flow before your suit is ruined but it's too late. Mister Browning, Big O does not like you. I suggest you get out of that chair."

Nucky staggered out of the cockpit on wobbly legs before tripping and falling down on the metal floor of the control room.

"Be careful Mister Browning," Dorothy cautioned as she helped him to his feet and placed his umbrella in his hand. "Here. Perhaps you can use this as a cane."

"Why did you save me?" he asked in a hoarse voice. "If you can operate the megadeus you can get clear away!"

"If you died it wouldn't do Roger any good, and in any event, I hold all life to be precious, even yours," she told him.

"You find all life precious?" Nucky stammered. "But you're an android! Are you really alive?"

"To a poor man, a thousand dollars must seem like the most precious thing in the world," Dorothy tilted her head in her best approximation of a shrug. "I'm willing to help you out of here, but you must tell your men not to shoot me. You have so much blood on you that it appears I attacked you." She put her arm around him to keep him on his feet.

"Sure thing Sugar," he smiled weakly as he put his arm around her for support. "I mean, Miss Wayneright," he corrected himself.

* * *

Roger was given solitary confinement for his troubles. Normally solitary might be a welcome thing for an ex-military police officer, but since Beck had released all of the truly dangerous prisoners solitary confinement was every bit the punishment it was intended to be. The problem with the four walls and total lack of stimulus was that there was nothing else to do but to remember, and to hallucinate.

Burning books glowed on flaming shelves as the past was destroyed. A legion of Big O's marched into battle. A host of Bigs that weren't Bigs attacked a city, tearing away the works of mankind to make way for something else. A cluster of bald children stared into the fire. An eye. A barcode. A podium before a crowd of refugees, his voice promising hope for the future. Gordon Rosewater smiling beatifically down at him while wearing bloodstained surgical scrubs. Roger in the cockpit of Big O, shouting orders over a headset as he battled faceless monsters. Dorothy Wayneright in a white gown falling away from him before vanishing into a white ooze pooling at Big O's feet.

Roger curled up into a fetal ball and tried to sleep. He wasn't a hundred percent successful. Apparently solitary confinement was a very effective form of discipline. Finally he sat up on the padded bench that served as his bed. "I'm no better than Alex Rosewater," he growled. "We're exactly the same."

* * *

In the east side dome, Dorothy Wayneright was taken to Nucky Browning's estate. "Here we are Dollface," Nucky said as he showed her around. "Here's the kitchen, the dining room is through here. Bedrooms are down that hall, and your room is upstairs. Louis will show you the rest."

"I have a room?" Dorothy asked.

"I assume you didn't want to stay in lockup at the precinct," Nucky shrugged. "You can't go home. You're my hostage to insure your boyfriend's good behavior so I don't gotta kill him. I can't leave you back at the hangar with the megadeuce. You can stay here where I can keep an eye on you. Speaking of keeping an eye on you, don't bother searching for your boyfriend's watch after I go to sleep. I gave it to my brother, and I ain't tellin' you where _he_ lives." He gestured at a short swarthy man with a handlebar moustache. "You've met Louis Kessler, he drove us. He's my valet, my 'gentleman's gentleman' as it were. He'll take care of you."

"This way Miss Wayneright," Kessler smiled as he escorted her upstairs to her new quarters. "I apologize that your things have not been transferred from your former abode," he said as they walked down an upstairs hall, "but hopefully there are some clothes that belonged to the late Missus Browning that will fit you." He had a foreign accent, but it was different from Norman's. "In the meantime, I suggest you try on the uniform and we'll see if it fits."

"The uniform?" Dorothy repeated as she was shown to a small bedroom that had a good view of the wooded grounds outside. A vanity desk gave the room some much needed femininity.

Kessler pulled a maid's uniform hung on a hanger out of the closet and handed it to her. "We had another girl but she damaged Mister Browning's shoes. She was a clumsy girl but you my dear move with mechanical precision, yes?"

"Yes." Dorothy acknowledged. "I was not aware that my stay would be long term."

"Oh! Well, we don't know how long you will stay or if you will decide to remain when things have settled down," Kessler apologized. "You seem very nice. Very good for Nucky."

"Have you worked for Mister Browning long Mister Kessler?"

"Oh yes, since before he was sent up," Kessler gushed. "I was taking care of his home during his absence but it is so far away from the office that he is looking at a penthouse. It is difficult to give up this house though. Many memories."

"What sort of man is Mister Browning?"

"Nucky? Yes, he is nice. Mister Browning is a very nice man," Kessler gushed. "He got my out my trouble almost ten years ago, and I have served him ever since. Mister Browning, he is part of everything. He's in the sky and sea. He's in the dreams of children at night. He is all that there is, forever. Well, I'll let you get settled in. Come to me when you're ready to learn the routine."

As he left Dorothy glanced around the room. "Forever," she repeated quietly. She refused to let any emotion show on her face or her posture, but she did stand very still. "Mister Browning, if you're not careful forever won't be that long."

* * *

On a desk filled with hourglasses a phone rings. Roger's hand picks up the receiver and a sinister voice says:

_Next: _ _Visiting Rights_


End file.
